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4h ago

Ternus Elevates Design at Apple and Acts as De Facto Design Chief

He is spending frequent time in Apple’s design studio to reshape product teams after delegating finance and supply‑chain duties to senior lieutenants.

Apple CEO John Ternus is reportedly a regular presence in Apple’s design studio.
Apple has not appointed a single design chief since Jony Ive left the company in 2019, and it may not be seeking a new design chief right now, with Ternus increasingly taking charge of the company’s design teams himself.
John Ternus Emerges as Apple's De Facto Design Chief [Gurman]
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Overview

  • Since becoming CEO, John Ternus has taken a hands‑on role with Apple’s industrial design and human interface teams, visiting the studio several times a week and sometimes multiple times a day.
  • Apple is not conducting an external search for a chief design officer because Ternus is effectively leading design decisions himself.
  • Ternus has shifted operational oversight to CFO Kevan Parekh on finances and COO Sabih Khan on the supply chain so he can focus on product, working closely with Johny Srouji and Tom Marieb on hardware engineering.
  • The company is rebuilding a thinned design bench by promoting junior designers and hiring externally, and has publicly elevated industrial design VP Molly Anderson and human interface lead Steve Lemay during recent product events.
  • The move restores a Jobs‑style, product‑first emphasis after years without a single design chief following Jony Ive’s 2019 exit and losses of senior designers to LoveFrom, OpenAI and other firms, a shift that could shape Apple’s future product look, software interactions and team morale.